Pirates hoping to make waves in 22-4A

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Pirates hoping to make waves in 22-4A

Van Wade

The Orange Leader

VIDOR — In what looks to be a very rugged District 22-4A, the Vidor Pirates are basically flying under the radar going into the 2007 campaign.

Many predictors around the state have the Pirates picked seventh or eighth in the district.

That doesn’t bother long-time Vidor head coach Jeff Mathews.

“Many are talking about how strong teams like Dayton and Central are, which those teams deserve that,†said Mathews. “I kinda like the situation we’re in along with teams like LC-M, PN-G, Nederland, Lumberton and Ozen. This district is as tough as I’ve seen going into a season. It’s going to be competitive all the way through. I know one thing, we have a great bunch of kids that work extremely hard and they’re fun to coach. I think they’re capable of a lot of good things.â€

The Pirates have a solid core group back with five starters returning on offense and seven on defense.

“We have a tremendous senior group of kids back,†said Mathews. “We were thrilled about spring practice too because we’re also counting on some juniors to stand out on the varsity level and even a few sophomores and we saw a lot of promise in them in the spring and early practices.â€

The Pirates return 2006 starting quarterback Roman Franklin. Franklin completed 98-of-158 passes for 828 yards and four touchdowns.

“Roman Frankiln, the kid is just a pure leader, plain and simple,†Mathews said. “Not a lot gets past him and our guys feed off of him. He’s such a competitor. He started at cornerback as a sophomore and is an athlete you love to have on the field.â€

Junior Chris Teinert will be a solid backup to Franklin.

The backfield will be without the services of four-year letter winner Brad Croak, who graduated with his more than 1,000 all-purpose yards. However, Mathews likes what he sees in what looks to be a heavy-duty backfield.

Bo Pillsbury returns to the backfield after zipping for 203 yards and four TDs on 42 carries. Bret Harris will also see plenty of totes after playing at the receiver spot in 2006 and track speedster Derek Worthy and Devan Dart will also see action.

“Without a doubt, we’re losing a good one in Croak,†Mathews said. “The good thing, though, is that we have four kids that can do a little bit of it all. We have a couple speed guys, a couple with power and a couple that can catch the ball well. We really like our mix and nobody can really count on just stopping one guy.â€

The fullback will likely be Theron Reynolds and he will be backed up by Shane Pittman.

When Harris isn’t toting the ball, he’ll certainly be receiving it after he hauled in 40 catches for 503 yards and three TDs as a junior. Junior Matt Conn looks to be the other starter and two or three more Pirates could see time in the slot. Senior Kaleb Faul and James Laramore will be at tight end.

The Pirate offensive line will be guided by center Wesley Reed, guards Spencer Smith and James Burns. The tackles spots will be shared by Brian Patton, Dillon Portie, and C.J. Perez.

“We like the depth of our offensive line,†Mathews said. “Our offense, as a whole, should be exciting this year. We have a lot of solid parts. This is the second year we’ve patterned our offense like Liberty Hill. They’ve had a lot of sucess with it over the years. Last year, the kids were getting the hang of it and this year, it’s sank in pretty well for them.â€

The defense will certainly be anchored by two-time All-District and four-year starter Chase Ferguson at noseguard. He squats 600 pounds and has bench-pressed 450. Also back is three-year starter Tim Dycus at one tackle and two-year starter Blake Whitaker at the other. Larry Williams and Lake Alvis will provid good depth.

“That defensive front is kind of our heart and soul,†Mathews said. “Chase is an amazing player and might be the best defensive lineman in the district. Timmy (Dycus) and Blake (Whitaker) are both pretty darn good too. We love what we have up front.â€

There is plenty of depth at the linebacker spots and so many players are interchangeable, including Teinert, Fall, Laramore, Scott Cathey, Garrett Robinson, Alton Rogers, Cody Campbell, and Remington Quirante.

The secondary will be anchored by cornerbacks Dart and Conn. Pillsbury and Worthy are the frontrunners at the safety positions and Todd Glaze and Jake Travis will provide good depth.

“Our defense has some kids on it that have been involved in some big games on Friday nights and that’s a huge plus,†Mathews said. “We’re much further ahead on that side of the ball compared to last year.â€

The Pirates are in good shape as far as the kicking game goes as Franklin will return to handle both the kicking and punting chores.

The Pirates have a solid non-district schedule in front of them, including defending TAPPS big school state champion Houston St. Pius to open the season. Vidor also plays Houston Jones and Livingston.

Mathews feels the 22-4A race will be something else.

“Dayton is loaded again and are so dangerous with all those kids back on offense,†Mathews said. “Coach (Donald) Stowers has done an amazing job with that Beaumont Central program and he told me he thinks they’ll be even better this year. Ozen, they were 1-9 last year but you can wipe that off because Coach (Ishan) Rison has the Panthers on the right track again. PN-G and Nederland will be young but you know they’ll be darn good. Those five get talked about the most but I can say that LC-M will be right in the mix after Coach (Todd) Moody got them fired up last year and the Bears are capable of a run. Lumberton, that team is full of seniors and is capable of big things We plan on being right their in the mix too. It’s going to be wild each and every week, you can count on that.â€

Mathews is thrilled with what the Pirates could bring to the table. ‘We have a great bunch of kids,†Mathews said. “They were up here all summer, busting their tails in the weightroom and running hard. The best thing about it was while they were doing it, they always had smiles on their faces and that’s what makes coaches smile too. Their work ethic has been tremendous and that’s all you can ask of them. They’ll go out every Friday night and give everything they have. We know, as a coaching staff, we can always count on that.â€